Drilling apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. S. W. DOUGLASS & M. G. BULLOCK. DRILLINGAPPARATUS. No. 462,428. Patented Nov. 3, 1891.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. S. W. DOUGLASS & M. O. BULLOCK.

DRILLING APPARATUS.

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V! I f "m: "cams PEYERS 00., Pnuwunim, WASHINGYON. D. c.

NTTnn STATES PATENT ()FFIcE.

SAMUEL \V. DOUGLASS AND MILAN C. BULLOCK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DRILLING APPARATUS.

SPiICJJZFI-IUATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,428, datedNovember 3, 1891.

Application filed August 24:, 1889. Serial No. 321,879. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.- and MILAN O. BULLOCK, of Chicago, in theBe it known that we, SAMUEL DOUGLASS county of (look and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in DrillingApparatus; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for rock or earthdrilling or boring, and more especially to that part of such apparatusby which the drill-rod is sustained in position forboringandis rotatedand given endwise movement.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointedout in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l is avertical section of an apparatus embodying the invention, taken uponline 1 l of Fig. 2. zontal section taken upon line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig.is a vertical section taken upon line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is avertical section taken upon line 4: -t of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detailsection taken upon line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail side elevationof the clutch device for starting and. stopping the feed-n ut. Fig. 7 isa detail face view of a scale and pointer for indicating the directionand rate of feed of the fGGIl-SCI'BW.

As shown in the accon'ipanying drawings,

A is the main supporting-plate of the apparatus, by means of which thesame is sus tained in operative position. Said plateAis herein shown asprovided with clamps A A, by which it may be adjustably secured to twotubular standards A A by which the apparatus is supported in positionfor work.

B is a swivel-plate, which is. of annular form and is mounted on anannular seat a of the plate A,the swivel-plate being held thereon bymeans of bolts Z) I), having heads which engage a T-groove in theswivelplate, so that the latter may be turned at any angle desired byloosening said bolts, swinging the plate to a desired position, and thentightening the bolts. Said swivel-plate is mounted to turn Fig.2 is ahori-' on an axis coincident with that of an engine crank-shaft C, bywhich the apparatus is operated and which has hearing at a in the plateA.

D is a swivel-head or part which immedi ately sustains the drill-rod andparts for actuating it, and which is hinged to the swivelplate B in theusual manner, the connection between the parts herein shown consistingof a hinge connecting the said swivel-head and swivel-plate, located atone side of the latter, and a locking-lever C adapted to engage a lug con the swivel-plate, said locking-lever being employed to hold theswivel head against the swivel-plate l3 and in operative position whenHe machine is ready for work.

The swivel-head D is herein shown as havingthe form of a shell,consisting of two parts D and D which cover or inclose the principaloperative parts of the device. The said shell is divided on a lineparallel with the face of the swivel-plate B, and the part D of theshell is located in contact with the said swivel-plate, while the part Dof said shell forms the frontpart or wall thereof. The said two parts Dand D of the shell are united by means of horizontal bolts (Z (Z (Z.

E is a feed-screw which extends through the swivel-head and is arrangedwith its central axis in line with the central axis of the engine-shaftC.

F is a tubular feed-nut 0r interiorly-threaded sleeve, which is mountedin a bearing D in the lower part of the swivel-head, and is titted tothe thread of the feed-screw E. Said feed-nut is provided with agear-pinion F, and is held from cndwise movement in the. swivel-head bymeans of a roller thrust-bearing F constructed to take either an upwardor a downward thrust, as hereinafter more fully described.

G is a sleeve mounted in a bearing D" at the upper part of theswivel-head and surrounding the feed-screw. Said feed-screw is providedwith longitudinal grooves e c, which engage splines g g on the saidsleeve G, so that the feed-screw is turned with the sleeve while beingadapted to move endwise through the same. Said sleeve G at its endnearest the engine-shaft C is provided with a beveled gear-wheel G,which intermeshes with a beveled gear-wheel C on said engine-shaft. Thesleeve G is held from shifting endwise in the swivel -head by means ofthe beveled wheel G, which bears against one end of the bearing D, and acollar g formed upon the said sleeve above the said bearing.

H is a short counter-shaft located in the upper part of the swivel-headat one side of andparallel with the feed-screw and sleeve G, and drivenfrom the said sleeve by means of friction-gear, as hereinafter fullydescribed. Said shaft is mounted in a sliding block I, which issupported by suitable guidesD D upon the swivel-head, so that the block,to-

gether with the counter-shaft H mounted therein, may move'bodily towardand from the feed-screw The counter-shaft is held from endwise movementin the block I by means of collars h h above and below said block.

J-isashaft mounted'in a bearingD in the lower part of the swivel-head,at one side of the feed-screw and in the same'plane with thecounter-shaft H, said shaft J being provided atits upper end with agear-wheel J, which intermeshes withthe gear-pinion F on the feed-nut F.The shaft J is adapted to turn with the counter-shaft H by means of arod K,.which is connected at its upper end with the shaft H by means ofa gimbal-joint K, and at its lower end with the shaft J by means ofasecond gimbal j oint K For compactness of construction the shaft J isherein shown as made tubular or hollow,and the rod K as passing ihroughthe same, the gimbaljoint K being located at the lower end of said:hollow' shaft. Said rod K, connected with the counter-shafts H andshaft J by means of gimbal-joints in the manner described, transmitsrotary-mot-ion from said shaft H to the shaft J, while atthe same timeallowing the shaft H to be shifted toward and from the feed-screw in-themanner above described.

A friction-gear is provided for' driving the connter shaft H fromthesleeve G, as follows: Upon the-upper end of said sleeve G are located aseries of flat rings or disks 9 g 9 which are adapted to slidevertically-upon said sleeve,'but are held from turning thereon by meansof a spline g on the sleeve, which en gages suitable notches in thedisk. 'The said disks or rings are made slightly narrower at their outerthan at their inner edges, so as to make them of wedge shape incross-section, as clearly shown in the drawings. The shaft H extendsabove the top surface of the swivelhead, and upon: the same is mounted aseries of disks 71 7?? 7L2 7?}, which are adapted to slide verticallyupon the shaft, but which are held from turning thereon by means of aspline h. Above the disks is located .a spring H, which is held incontact therewith by means of a nut H upon the-upper end of the shaft.Said spring is herein shown as consisting of a block of rubberplacedaround the shaft; but it may be made of metal and of any desiredconstruction. The disks h h 77. are preferably provided at their outermargin with thickened parts or beads h 71 its 713, and the said disks kk 71 77, are made of such size with relation to the disks 9 g g that themargins of said disks overlap each other, in the manner shown, with theedges of the disks 71- 71. 71,2 k coming between and bearing against thebeveled surfaces'of the disks 9 g g The several disks arranged tooverlap in the manner described, form a friction-gearing by which theshaft H is driven from the sleeve Gr, the spring H holding the severaldisks 712 71 72, h in close or forcible contact with the disks g g 9 sothat a necessary-degree of frictional engagement is obtained between thetwo sets of disks. It willof course beunderstood that the number ofdisks-employed will correspond with the work to be done or the amount ofpower tobe transmittethjand by suitably increasing the number of disksany required amount of frictional engagement may be secured. Byincreasingand decreasing the pressure of the spring-H" the frictionalengagement between the two sets of disks maybe increased or decreased asfound necessary or desirable.

In the use of afriction driving-gear of the character described theshaft H may be shifted toward and from the feed-screw with the effect ofchanging the relative speed ofthe parts, the said shaft I-I being drivenmore slowly when brought neareivthe feed-screw and more rapidly whenmoved a greater distance therefrom. The friction-gear describedtherefore-affords a meansforvarying the speed of the shaft H without theemployment of change gears or other similar contrivance, and in suchmanner that thespeed of said shaft may be changed at any time whetherthe machine is running or not-and without changing its speed.

Any convenient device may be employed for moving or shifting the block Iin which the shaft H is mounted. The device for this purpose hereinshown consists of a shaft L; which extends through and has hearings inthe front and rear parts of the swivel-head D, and is provided inside ofthe swivel-head with an eccentric L, which engages a vertical slot Hformedin the block I. The shaft L is provided outside of the swivel-headwith a hand-lever L by which the eccentric may be turned about the shaftL.

For convenience in indicating to the operatorwhether the machine isadjusted to feed backwardly or forwardly and also the rate of feed, theshaft L is preferably provided, in addition to the hand-lever L with 'anindex hand or pointer L adapted to move overa scale L secured to theframe, and which is marked in a suitable manner to indicate the rate offeed-as, for instance, the scale may be marked to show the number ofrevolutions of the feed-screw for one-inch movement of the same, and thescale herein shown is so marked. It is also obvious that accordingly asthe said pointer stands to one side or the other of a predeterminedpoint the direction of feed can thereby be observed.

M is a clutch-sleeve mounted upon the lower end of the hollow shaft Jand provided with teeth or projections m, which are adapted to engagesimilar teeth 72 on a clutch-collar N, which is mounted to turn on thelower end of said hollow shaft and is pivoted to the gimbal-joint K Saidcollar N preferably has a slight longitudinal movement on the shaft, soas to enable the gimbal-joint and the lower end of the rod K to moveslightly in a vertical direction, as is necessary when the shaft H ismoved orshifted sidewise. 'The clutchsleeve M is provided at its upperend with a conical bearing-surface M, constructed to engage acorresponding bearing-surface M formed on the swivel-head D. Theclutchsleeve is held from turning on the shaft J by means of a spline onthe shaft engaging the sleeve. Said clutch-sleeve is adapted formovement either downwardly or upwardly, so that it may be slid downwarduntil its projections or teeth are brought in engagement with theprojections or teeth of the collar N, or may be moved upwardly until itsupper end engages the annular stationary frictionsurface M 0 is ahand-lever, which is supported 011 a pin 0 and is provided with prongs o0, adapted to engage an annular groove m in the sleeve M, saidhand-lever affording a means by which the said clutch-sleeve may beshifted on the shaft J, as desired. Said hand-lever is preferablyprovided with a detent-lever P, having at its inner face a hook 1),adapted to engage a recess or notch p on the frame and thereby hold thehand-lever O in position when the clutch-sleeve is engaged with theclutch-collar N.

The clutch device described affords detachable driving connectionbetween the countershaft 11 and the nut F, and at the same time isadapted by the engagement of the end of the cl utch-sleeve with thestationary frictionsurface M to hold the nut from turning when theclutch is disconnected. In the operation of the device constructed asabove described, the rotary motion given to the sleeve G is transmittedto the feed-screw through the medium of the spline and groove connectingsaid parts, and is also transmitted to the shaft H by the friction-geardescribed. The shaft 11 drives the hollow shaft J through the medium ofthe gimbal-joints and rod K, and retary motion is transmitted to the nutF from said. shaft J through the medium of the gearwheel J and pinion F.

lhe feed-screw is provided with a left-hand thread, but is revolved tothe right, and said feed-screw is fed downwardly by the turning of thenut, which also turns to the right at a rate of speed faster than thatof the feedscrew. The feed-screw is advanced when the several parts aredriven one from the other in the manner described, the clutch-sleeve Mbeing engaged with the clutch-collar N, so that the hollow shaft J isconnected and turns with the shaft K. In order to run back thefeed-screw, said clutclrsleeve M is released from the collar N andbrought into contact with the friction-surface M thereby stopping therotation of the hollow shaft J and nut F, whereupon the feed screw,which is still being turned to the right, will be carried upwardlythrough the nut until it returns to its starting-point. It follows,therefore, that the feed-screw may be advanced or run back by simplymanipulating the hand-lever which controls the clutch-sleeve, and noreversal or stoppage of the feed-screw is necessary for running back thesame at the termination of its forward movement. By bringing theclutclrsleeve with slight pressure against the stationary surface, sothat the clutch may slip on the same to a greater or less extent, the

receding speed of the feed-screw may be altered, as desired. It will ofcourse be understood that in the use of a device of the characterdescribed the drill-rod passes through the feed-screw,.whieh latterishollow or tubular for this purpose, and that the feed-screw is providedwith a chuck, by which the drillrod may be clamped thereto. In runningback the feed-screw for the purpose of advancing a new length of thedrill'rod, the chuck is loosened to free the drill-rod from thefeed-screw, the latter is run back, the chuck is clamped 011 thedrill-rod at a new place, and the forward movement of the parts againcontinued.

In similar devices as heretofore made, wherein the nut is heldstationary for feeding backward the feed-screw, it has been necessary todisengage the toothed gears forming the driving connections between thefeed screw and the nut and to hold the nut from turning by a deviceadapted to positively engage and interlock. with the frame, and thischange required the slowing down or stoppage of the engine. By theemployment herein described, wherein the nut is held from turning byfrictional engagement of a moving part with the frame, the counter-shaftand the gearing run all the time without change of speed, the nut andthe sleeve only being stopped or retarded, as desired. The employment offriction to hold the nut from turning is of great advantage,for thereason that in the case the feed-screw runs too far back and the chuckon the end thereof comes in contact with the swivel-head the frictiondevice holding the nut will yield and allow the latter to turn so as toavoid injury to or breakage of the machine.

That feature of the invention by which the feed-screw may be. fedforward or run backward without changing its speed and by simply movingthe clutch-handle is of great ad vantage, for the reason that a quickup-anddown movement of the drill-rod while the same is rotating is foundto afford a convenient way of loosening the rock-core in case pieces ofthe same become jammed in a corelifter or core-barrel, such as iscommonly attached to the drill-rod, for the purpose of receiving andholding the core while the same is being removed.

Then the shaft H stands at such distance from the feed-screw that thefriction-disks come in contact on the pitch-line of the gears J and F,the speed of the nut will obviously be equal to the speed of thefeed-screw, and in such case the nut will be driven at the same speedthe feed-screw and the latter will remain immovable longitudinally orwill neither be advanced nor retracted. By moving apart or separatingthe friction disks when they are in contact on the pitch-line, asillustrated, the speed of the not will be increased and the feed-screwwill be advanced or carried forward. By bringing the disks nearertogether from the pitch-line, however, the feed-screw will be carriedbackward or upward, the nut at this time turning more slowly than thefeed-screw. The tapered form of one set of the disks prevents-contact ofthe disks at more than one point, and a constant or definite pitch-lineis thus obtained. Such backward or upward feed is sometimes necessaryfor drilling back ward in caving ground, the cutting-head employed undersuch circumstanceshavingcutting points or diamonds located in its upperas well as its lower part, so that in case the hole behind thecutting-head becomes choked by the caving in of the rock or earth aboveit the cutting-head may be run up-' wardlyto clear the hole. It will ofcourse be seen that by moving the friction-disks toward and from eachother any intermediate rate of speed may be obtained from nothing up tothe highest speed the machine is capable of giving-as, for instance, inthe machine from which the accompanying drawings were made, allintermediate rates of feed may beobtained between fifty revolutions toan inch forward to fifty revolutions to an inch backward. The rate offeed may obviously be instantly changed by shifting the shaft H whilethe machine is in operation and without stopping the engine or lesseningits speed.

The thrust-bearing for the nut F is made as follows: Said nut F isprovided inside of the bearing D in the swivel-head with two collars ff,each other, the collar f being conveniently made integral with the nut,while the collar f is secured thereto by a screw-threaded joint. Withinsaid bearing, opposite the annular groove formed by the two collars ff,

is formed an annular recess D ,the upper and lower edges of which formannular seats or shoulders d d for engagement with two bearing-rings QQ, which surround the nut be tween the collars f f and extendingoutwardly into the recess D so as to bear against arranged at somedistance from the said seats d (1 Between said bearingrings are locatedrollers q q, herein shown as made of spherical form and as runninginannular grooves formed in the adjacent faces of the said bearing-rin gs.The bearin g is grooved or recessed to receive the collars f f and aslight clearance or space is left between the said collars ff and theadjacent walls of the grooves or recesses above and below the same, sothat the end-thrust in either direction of the nut comes solely upon thebearing-rings Q or Q. 'In case of an upward thrust, such as is producedby the downward pressure of the cutting-head in boring, the collar fpresses against the lower bearing-ring Q, and the latter is therebycaused to turn with the nut, while the ring Q, is forced or carriedagainst its seat d in the swivel-head and is held from turning by itscontact therewith. Similarly in case of a downward thrust, such as isproduced by the weight of a long line of drill-rods, the shoulder orcollar f, acting on the bearing-ring Q, will free the latter from theswivel-head and bring the bearingring Q into bearing with its seat 01 sothat said bearing-ring Q in this case becomes a stationary one, and thering Q turns with the nut. The thrust-bearing is thus adapted to actequally well under strains coming in either direction. 1

In swivel-heads having roller thrust-bearings as heretofore made, thethrust-bearings have been constructed to operate in one direction only,so that in case the weight of the line of drill-rods exceeds theresistance produced by drilling'it became necessary to reverse theentire swivel-head and attach the drill-rod to the opposite end of thefeed-screw in order that the thrust-bearing may carry the weight of thedrill-rod. The thrust-bearing herein described works in the same Whetherthe thrustis up or down, as hereinbefore described, so that any suchreversal of the swivel-head becomes unnecessary.

A special advantage is obtained by making the frame of the swivel-headin two parts in the manner described, for the reason that it enables thenut F, sleeve G, and shaft J to be provided with integral shoulders forengaging opposite ends of the bearings in the swivel-head, and alsoenables the bearingrings Q Q, to be inserted without the employment ofseparate detachable parts on the swivel-head to form one or both of theshoulders or seats against which said bearingrings rest. The two-partswivel-head, furthermore, maybe easily constructed to surround orinclose the main parts of the apparatus, so that the latter are securelyhoused and the gears, bearings, and other parts protected from dirt oraccidental injury.

By properly adjusting the spring which holds the friction-disks incontact with each other, the disks may be adapted to yield or slip oneach other in casea definite strain on the drill-rod or cutting-head isexceeded.

The gear thus constructed therefore forms a safety device which willprevent the parts becoming broken or injured in case more pressure isput on the cutting-head than the apparatus will stand, a device of thiskind being especially desirable in drilling through rock which is brokenor unequal in hardness and in which the cuttinghead and drill-rod areliable to be subjected to sudden jars and strains.

It will of course be understood that a flexible shaft or other similardevice may be employed in place of the gimbal-joints described to aifordconnection between the counter shaft I1 and the shaft J.

\Ve claim as our invention- 1. The combination, with a feed-screw, a nutengaging the same, and a revolving sleeve splined to the feed-screw, ofa counter-shaft movable toward and from the feed-screw and connectedwith the nut by means of gearing which maintains operative connectionbetween said parts in all positions of the counter-shaft, andoverlapping friction-disks upon the said sleeve and counter-shaft, oneset of said disks beingbeveled, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a feed-screw, a nut engaging the same, and arevolving sleeve splined to the feed-screw, of a counter-shaft movabletoward and from the feed-screw and connected with the nut by means ofgearing which maintains operative connection between said parts in allpositions of the counter-shaft, overlapping friction-disks upon the saidsleeve and counter-shaft, one set of said disks being beveled, and aspring applied to hold said friction-disks in contact with each other,substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a feed-screw, a nut engaging the same andprovided with a gearpinion, and a revolving sleeve splined to thefeed-screw, of a co u nter-shaft movable toward and from the feed-screw,overlapping frictiondisks upon the said sleeve and counter-shaft, oneset of said disks being beveled, a shaft provided with a gear-wheelinterm eshing with the gear upon the nut, and a rod connected with thesaid shafts by gimbal-joints, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a feed-screw, a nut engaging the same andprovided with a gear-pinion, and a revolving sleeve splined to thefeed-screw, of a counter-shaft movable toward and from said feed-screw,overlapping friction-disks upon the said sleeve and counter-shaft, oneset of said disks being beveled, a shaft J, provided with a gearwheel,intermeshing with the, gear-pinion upon the nut, and a rod connectedwith the said shafts by gimbal-joints, said shaft J be ing hollow ortubular and the rod being located within the same, substantially asdescribed.

The combination, with a'feed-screw, a nut engaging the same, and arevolving sleeve splined to the feed-screw, of a counter-shaft movabletoward and from the feed-screw and connected with the nut by means ofgearing which maintains operative connection between said parts in allpositions of the counter-shaft, overlapping friction-disks upon the saidsleeve and counter-shaft, one set of said disks being beveled, a slidingblock affording bearings for said counter-shaft, and a rockshaftprovided with an eccentric engaging said sliding block for moving thelatter, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the machineframe, a feed-screw and a feed-nutengaging the same, and a revolving sleeve splined to the feed-screw, ofa counter-shaf t driven from the said sleeve, a shaft J, gearingconnecting said shaft J with the nut, a clutch-collar mounted to turn onthe said shaft J and connected and turning with the counter-shaft, aclutch-sleeve adapted to engage said collar and movable longitudinallyon said shaft J, the said machine-frame being provided with an annularfriction-surface adapted for engagement with said collar for holding thenut from turning, and means for actuating said clutch-sleeve,substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a machine-frame, a feed-screw, a feed-nutengaging the same, and a revolving sleeve splined to the feedscrew, of acountershaft driven from the said sleeve, a shaft J, gearing connectingsaid shaft J with the nut, a clutch-collar mounted to turn on the saidshaft J and connected and turning with the co unter-shaft, aelutelrsleevc adapted to engage said collar and movable longitudinallyon said shaft J, the said machine-frame being provided with an annularfriction-surfaceadapted for engagement with said sleeve for holding thenut from turning, ahand-lever for actuating said clutch-sleeve, and adetent-lever 011 said hand-lever adapted to engage the machine-frame forlocking the clutch-sleeve in engagement with the clutchcollar,substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the machineframe and feed-screw, of a feed-nutmounted in the frame and engaging the screw, and a thrust bearing fortransmitting directly to the frame the thrust on the nut in eitherdirection, consisting of two bearing-rings engaging opposite shoulderson both the nut and the frame, and anti-friction balls or rollerslocated between said bearing-rings, sub stantially as described.

9. A drilling apparatus comprising a'machine-frame, ahorizontally-arranged main shaft, a swivel-head connected with the mainframe and mounted to rotate 011 an axis concentric with that of the mainshaft, a feedscrew, a feed-nut, a revolving sleeve surrounding thefeed-screw, intermeshing gearwheels upon the main shaft and sleeve, acounter-shaft, intcrmeshin g gear-wheels upon the said counter-shaft andthe feed-nut, and ehangespeed gearing connecting the said sleeve withthe countershaft, said swivel- In testimony that we claim the foregoingas 10 head being constructed to surround or inour invention We affix oursignatures in presolose the gear-wheels which connect the main enceoftwo Witnesses. shaft with the sleeve and the counter-shaft w 5 With thefeed-nut, and being formed to afford SAMUEL WV DOUGLASS' bearings forthe feed-nut, sleeve, and ooun- MILAN BULLOCK ter-shaft and divided intotwo parts in aplane Witnesses: passing through the said severalbearings, G. CLARENCE POOLE,

substantially as described. HARRY COBB KENNEDY.

